However, according to USA Today’s Bob Nightengale on Thursday, the Astros “are keeping the door ajar” for the possibility of Bregman’s return. The MLB insider added that Joe Espada’s side isn’t optimistic about the idea with the All-Star fielding two “serious offers.” It was not made clear if the Red Sox or Detroit Tigers were one of those teams.
Bregman would be an odd fit after Houston’s offseason moves. Nightengale theorized that the 30-year-old would stick to third base, Paredes would move to second and Jose Altuve would shift to left field, a position he hasn’t played in the majors.
This added a new wrinkle to Boston’s pursuit of Bregman and meant it had another team to compete with outside of the Tigers. The Gold Glove infielder wants a long-term deal, according to his agent Scott Boras. And he’s been patiently waiting for the right offer. The Red Sox remain the favorite, according to multiple MLB insiders.
Story continues below advertisement
The baseball world is abuzz with rumors surrounding Houston Astros star Alex Bregman and his future with the team. Despite recent reports of interest from the Boston Red Sox, it appears that Bregman is not ruling out any potential suitors.
Bregman, who has been a key part of the Astros’ success in recent years, is set to become a free agent after the 2024 season. With the Red Sox reportedly interested in acquiring the All-Star third baseman, many fans are speculating about a potential trade.
However, Bregman has made it clear that he is focused on the upcoming season with the Astros and is not letting the rumors distract him. In a recent interview, he stated, “I love Houston, I love playing for the Astros, and my focus is on helping this team win a championship.”
While Bregman’s future with the Astros remains uncertain, it is clear that he is not ruling out any potential suitors. With his talent and leadership on the field, it is no surprise that teams like the Red Sox are interested in acquiring his services. Only time will tell where Bregman will end up, but one thing is for sure – he is keeping his options open.
Over the course of last weekend, Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores had a trio of interviews with teams who are looking for a new head coach. On Monday, one of those three teams decided that they were going to go in a different direction.
The Vikings’ NFC North rivals, the Chicago Bears, have announced the hiring of former Detroit Lions’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson to be their new head coach. The terms of the deal have not been disclosed yet, but enough connected sources are reporting it to make it realistic enough to report.
Johnson was one of the top names available in this cycle, and now he’ll go to a Bears team that has been, to say the least, offensively challenged in recent years and has a quarterback who looks like he’s in need of some direction. Will Johnson be able to provide that? For the Vikings’ sake, I certainly hope not.
That means that two of the three teams that Flores interviewed with are still looking to fill their head coaching vacancies. Those teams are both in the AFC, the Jacksonville Jaguars and the New York Jets. The Jets might be tempting for Flores, as it would give him a shot at his former employers in Miami twice a year (and in New England as well, though I don’t think there’s any potential bad blood there like there might be with Miami). Jacksonville fired an offensive-minded head coach in Doug Pederson and might be willing to turn to someone with Flores’ defensive prowess.
Flores has been on record stating that he won’t take a head coaching job just to take one, so we’ll see if either the Jaguars or the Jets can impress him enough to get him to make the move. If they each go in a different direction as well, it seems likely that Flores would return to the Vikings for a third season as the team’s defensive coordinator.
We’ll be keeping an eye on the coaching carousel around the league, as well as any Vikings coaches who might get snagged by other teams with new coaches looking to fill out their staffs.
The Miami Dolphins have fired head coach Brian Flores after three seasons, and it appears that one potential suitor for his services has already made a move. The Houston Texans, who are also in need of a new head coach, have hired Lovie Smith to lead their team.
Smith, who has previous head coaching experience with the Chicago Bears and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, is a respected defensive mind in the NFL. His hiring could signal that the Texans are looking for a defensive-minded coach to lead their team, which could rule out Flores as a potential candidate.
It will be interesting to see where Flores lands next after his surprising departure from the Dolphins. With several head coaching vacancies still available across the league, there are sure to be plenty of suitors vying for his services. Stay tuned for more updates on where Flores could end up next.
The rumors tying Utah Jazz center to Walker Kessler have been well-documented for months now. The Lakers don’t seem like the ideal trade partners for the Jazz at the moment, as they own the Lakers’ top-four protected first-round pick in 2027.
Since trading Kessler to the Lakers would only likely make them better, which could make that pick worse, why would the Jazz do that? The Lakers have made trade offers to Utah involving Kessler, and the Jazz have said no. However, Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus proposed a trade that isn’t actually the worst idea.
Pincus proposed the following deal between the Lakers and Jazz.
Lakers receive: Kessler
Jazz receive: Christian Wood, remove protections from the Lakers 2027 pick, 2029 Lakers first-round pick
Pincus explained why the Jazz would make this trade with the Lakers. He also acknowledged why
“Landing the Lakers’ 2029 first-rounder would give Utah a chance at a high lottery pick, given that James just turned 40 and will (presumably) retire before the 2028-29 season.
‘If Los Angeles suffers an earlier downturn, the extra shot at Nos. 1-4 in 2027 is a bonus that may or may not matter. But Utah must cast a wide net as it pushes through its rebuild. The Jazz may not want to help the Lakers improve, but Kessler won’t make James any younger.”
The Lakers just traded for Dorian Finney-Smith, signaling they intend to compete this season. They’ve actually gotten some results thus far this season, so Kessler would help them take a step further this season.
But would is this package good enough to entice the Jazz?
Making this trade would depend on how the Jazz view Kessler
Kessler has had a bounceback season, but his performance hasn’t translated into much success for the Jazz as a team. That’s exactly what the Jazz wanted, both from Kessler and for their tanking efforts. However, this calls into question his effectiveness as a rim protector.
It’s not his fault he’s surrounded by mostly subpar defenders, but it is somewhat telling that Kessler’s presence defensively doesn’t alter much for the Jazz. The drama with him in offseason trade rumors died down, but he could signify that he may not be long for Utah.
If the Jazz don’t see Kessler as a long-term piece, Pincus’ trade idea could be the best they could hope for. Kessler has still been mentioned in trade rumors, but good players on rookie contracts are very valuable, especially in today’s NBA.
A deal involving D’Angelo Russell’s expiring contract that could help the Jazz’s cap flexibility would be a good sweetener in a deal like this, but the Lakers got rid of it to get their hands on Finney-Smith.
But the Jazz have another year and a half to decide if they want to keep Kessler long-term. Because they currently have low expectations, it’s not like he has a ton of pressure. This deal comes down to what the Jazz value more: Kessler or their draft capital
Grade: B+
The Utah Jazz have finally granted the wish of a long-interested suitor by sending center Walker Kessler to a new team. Stay tuned for more updates on this trade and how it will impact both teams involved. #NBA #TradeDeadline #WalkerKessler
The Chicago Bulls trade rumors have been stuck on simmer.
While reports have made it clear that Arturas Karnisovas is ready to answer calls, the phone lines have not appeared particularly busy. For as well as Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic have played, the additional years and expenses on their contracts have been a deterrent for some. Likewise, it sounds like Chicago isn’t prepared to sell either player for cheap.
Nevertheless, the Bulls’ asking price could always change as the Feb. 6, 2025 trade deadline nears. We can say the same about the sheer level of interest in both veteran All-Stars around the league. This is why we’ll continue to keep a very close eye on trade rumors big and small. You never quite know when things will reach a boiling point!
Bulls Trade Rumors
Suns Interested in Nikola Vucevic
We have heard very little regarding which teams – if any – have a genuine interest in acquiring Nikola Vucevic. All we do know at this point in time is that the Bulls are reportedly hoping to receive a first-round pick for the big man’s services. Considering he is averaging 20.7 points on a career-high 65.3 effective field goal percentage, per Cleaning the Glass, this doesn’t sound like an outlandish request. Whether or not someone will bite, however, is a fair question.
With that said, Marc Stein of The Stein Line named at least one team this week that could weigh the possibility of adding the Bulls’ starting center.
The Suns are said to be interested in Chicago’s Nikola Vučević and would seem to have an obvious pathway to making the Bulls an offer by attaching draft compensation to the contract of Jusuf Nurkić.
Few teams in the league are as all-in as the Phoenix Suns, so the fact they are looking to make a splash doesn’t come as a surprise. This is especially true when we consider how much Jusuf Nurkic has struggled since manning starting center duties last season. While the veteran has averaged 9.7 rebounds per game, he’s also scoring only 9.0 points per game on a problematic 45.7 percent shooting from the field. The Suns score a -5.9 points per 100 possessions when he’s on the floor, which ranks in the league’s 15th percentile.
Vucevic would offer Phoenix the same rebounding consistency with significantly more offensive upside. His ability to space the floor would also make considerably more sense alongside scorers like Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal.
Nevertheless, it’s hard to picture the Bulls entertaining discussions. Nurkic has one more year on his current deal at $19.4 million, and we already know the Bulls aren’t looking to eat bad contracts. Even if Chicago changed their stance on taking dead money (and they should), the Suns also don’t necessarily have the draft compensation to make it worth their wild. They can not currently trade a single one of their future first-round picks and have only three second-round picks at their disposal.
I should probably also mention that it’s actually impossible for the Suns to trade Nurkic for Vucevic right now! Since they are a second-apron team, they can not take back more salary than they send out NOR aggregate salaries to acquire a player. In other words, since Nurkic ($18.1 million) makes less than Vucevic ($20.0 million), a one-for-one swap + draft compensation would not be allowed. Phoenix would have to make other pretty major moves to put themselves below the second tax apron and receive the green light to pursue Vucevic.
With that being the case, this rumor sure feels hollow. I suppose hearing about any level of interest is better than the alternative, but we’re still waiting for a legitimate suitor to emerge for the big man.
Zach LaVine’s Market
Zach LaVine’s trade buzz has seen a tiny bump in recent weeks thanks to the ties to the Denver Nuggets. Still, it sounds like things are moving rather slowly and that stirring up a bidding war isn’t in the cards for Chicago.
There have been whispers about the Lakers for over a year, but a source said the pieces that would have to be swapped don’t fit, and the Lakers remain steadfast that Austin Reaves isn’t going to be included.
The Sun-Times reported that the Nuggets rumor did have “light momentum” as of last week, but that’s as far as it has gotten. Both teams have sent out feelers in early talks of what a deal would look like, but it hasn’t progressed.
I’m encouraged that so many different sources have confirmed that the Nuggets are considering LaVine, but we obviously remain in the early stages of those talks. It’s also a bummer to know a team like Los Angeles isn’t expected to enter the chat. They have long made a lot of sense for LaVine and have some expiring deals/draft compensation the Bulls should want.
Indeed, if the Lakers continue to consider other options, it really makes you wonder which other teams will legitimately evaluate adding LaVine. The Golden State Warriors still make sense on the surface, as do the Clippers, but we have yet to hear either team connected to the two-time All-Star.
With rumors swirling around the NBA trade deadline, there’s a new suitor reportedly interested in acquiring All-Star center Nikola Vucevic from the Chicago Bulls. According to sources, the New York Knicks have emerged as a potential landing spot for Vucevic, as they look to bolster their frontcourt and make a playoff push.
Meanwhile, the market for Bulls guard Zach LaVine remains active, with several teams expressing interest in acquiring the high-scoring guard. With the deadline approaching, it will be interesting to see if the Bulls decide to make a move involving either Vucevic or LaVine, or if they choose to stand pat and build around their talented duo.
Stay tuned for more updates as the trade deadline approaches and the NBA landscape continues to shift.
